Call of Duty 4 moves past the ditches of World War II and into modern warfare. The game promises to be one of the strongest titles this holiday season, and I was eager to see if it could live up to the mountains of hype.

Visually, CoD 4 is a cut above CoD 2, the last time Infinity Ward took a crack at the series. I compare the game to CoD 2 more than CoD 3, because I think the third installment–created by a different studio–did not have the level of polish exhibited in the early launch title of CoD 2. Not only does everything look a bit more life-like and realistic, but also there’s so much more going on at any given time.

There are definitely sections of the game that you instantly want to replay, because you know you missed some detail. You know that somewhere you weren’t looking you’d see something cool. I’m not saying you’ll miss huge things; the game will push you in to seeing most of these. While you’re firing at enemies all around you, it’s easy to miss the attention to detail. The use of shadows of enemies and friendly aircraft, and everything in between. It’s like every detail was captured; nothing missed.

That attention to detail follows to the sound, where gunfire pierces any hope of silence. The squad commands in English and in Arabic are typically brief and hurried, as you’d expect. They’re somewhat repetitive, but that seems about right. This is all well and good, but I’m truly impressed when I can take what I believe is cover behind a wall, only to hear and see parts of it being ripped open all around me.

And the use of cover is a big change from previous Call of Duty titles. Now, it’s so dynamic. Some things, like giant concrete barriers, provide the protection you’d expect. Most wood, however, does not. This is a blessing and a curse, because you can get a lot of kills through false cover just about as frequently as you’re scared out of your own would-be hiding place.

Any one who’s completed any of these games on Veteran or Hardened knows what that entails; but don’t expect a cakewalk otherwise. The enemies are amazingly good, even on those lower settings. But I’d say their skill definitely ramps up reasonably. The way they toss grenades is particularly brutal. On the lower difficulty settings, the enemies sometimes run around a little more aimlessly and won’t always finish you off from close range. A little further on, and you’re going to need to really be on your buddies’ hips.

Luckily, friendly A.I. is much improved–if that ever was really a concern. Enemies are routinely called out, and your squadmates will keep you headed in the right direction. Not that it’s much of a challenge staying on the correct path. It’s a first person shooter after all.

The missions take you throughout the globe, but I think the Middle East sections define the gameplay. The most chilling aspect of CoD 4 is that gamers are playing what amounts to real-life battle. There’s no hiding behind the tried and true good versus evil of World War II here. There may be an evident political message, and that could hamper the gameplay for some people.

Additionally, and likely as a result of the improved graphics and modern feel, there are moments when it’s just not so fun. It really does feel like real war. That was somewhat less of a concern in the WWII-era shooters. There are still enough “cool” moments to overwhelm the overly tense ones, but I think this game will make you feel more connected to your fellow squad members than the other current-gen CoD titles. And that will make it real both in a good and a bad way.

The feel of a weapon and the way each round fires off feels perfect and different. There’s so much evidence that the game’s developers did their homework on modern warfare as much as they had on WWII.

All told, Call of Duty 4 is a remarkable achievement in just about every way gamers could ask for–graphics, sound, detail, and level of immersion. It’s one of those games that stimulates gamers in multiple ways, and it’s one heck of an adrenaline rush. It’s easily one of the best games of the year, no matter which side of the political spectrum your beliefs lie. I would recommend this game to almost everyone who can legally buy “M”-rated titles, because like “Saving Private Ryan”, gutting through the heartrending moments may help in understanding the day-to-day struggles of real-life troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.